Warsong
by Celsius009
Summary: Novelization of the Horde's taking of Ashenvale forest, leading to Cataclysm. Battle-fic, no romance.
1. Prisoners of Fate

**I will open by saying I do not play World of Warcraft. This was written for a buddy of mine. If you try to engage me in a conversation about WoW prepare yourself for disappointment, this isn't my field.**

* * *

Chapter I: Prisoners of Fate

Torkra's ears picked up the sound of plated boots crunching through the underbrush. The orcs on their knees beside him shifted as far as their bindings would allow, trying to see the source of the sound as if glimpsing it sooner might unseal their fate. Their captors spared one moment of vigilance to acknowledge the newcomer before returning their sights down nocked arrows at the row of orcs in the clearing of Ashenvale Forest.

The sound of the boots stopped and for the first time Torkra opened his now remaining eye, lifting his head to view the tall night elf standing over him. It was clad in armor up to the neck, face ageless as all night elves' were, with eyes that regarded Torkra with a mixture of disdain and pity.

It muttered something over his shoulder to one of the guards who responded with a short answer, then nodded, still not taking his lambent eyes off Torkra. Torkra had heard elves speak before – a soft spoken flowing language that was too smooth on the ears for his liking. But the elf surprised him when it then addressed him in rough orcish.

"I am called Haelyth, and you are in my homeland." he began. "It seems no matter how many of you we drive back, you return to continue desecrating that which we hold most sacred," the night elf said looking up and down the line. Haelyth knelt in front of Torkra, returning his gaze to him. Torkra met it evenly. "I have killed many orcs and will not mourn the loss of a handful more. If you wish your passing to be swift, you will tell me why you were found so deep in the forest."

Torkra blinked. Did the night elves truly not know? Perhaps they had been so intent on containment they failed to realize the full extent to which the Horde was committing forces to the crisis of lumber shortage. Despite the deep wound in his chest from where he'd torn an arrow an hour ago, he chuckled. Then he realized the full extent of what the night elven ignorance was going to cost them and began outright laughing. The orcs beside him stared as if he'd gone mad while the night elves shared glances.

"Are you done?" Haelyth asked calmly when the orc finally succumbed to the stabbing pain and stopped himself. "Why were you found so far away from the lumber camp?" he repeated.

Torkra sat in silence for a moment, then decided it mattered little anymore. At this very moment the Horde army was preparing to move out from the northern barrens under cover of darkness and occupy as much of the forest as they could before the night elves realized their presence. He and his unit had been one of the many bands sent in before to distract the numerous stalkers and rangers the night elves had hidden throughout the forest. He had been skeptical of the plan but apparently it had worked. If the night elves didn't know now, they were too late to call for aid.

"We are a vanguard for the Horde army." Torkra told him simply, watching the eyes for any reaction. There were none.

"Is that so?" Haelyth asked, tone making it difficult to tell if he believed the orc or was merely humoring him. Torkra said nothing more, letting his statement sink into the night elves and uncertainty into their minds. "Why do you do this?" Haelyth asked softly, turning Torkra's attention back to him. "Is there no other way for your race to exist beyond complete destruction of the world around you?"

"My people need lumber." Torkra answered simply. It was logic, when someone needed something they go wherever they needed to get it.

"To fuel your machines of war and pillaging fires." Haelyth spat, now angry. "Outlands suited your kind well, orc. I fail to see why you saw fit to defile this world with your existence."

"Do you not build your homes from wood? Your cooking fires from tinder?" Torkra asked in response.

"My people replenish what we take, something you might learn from your tauren allies. We are in harmony with the forest." Haelyth answered. "You take, use, and take more."

"My people do not see the world as you do. We are not farmers or herbalists. We are warriors." Torkra justified. "We have a different way of living."

"Ways ill-suited for this world."

"Remove my bindings and I will show you how ill-suited our way of living is."

"I think not." Haelyth said, standing.

After a pause Haelyth picked up again. "If that is all then what remains is what to do with you. If you were to be allowed to live another day, would you continue to return to maim Azeroth's forests, burn our homes and slaughter our brethren?" he asked. A slight breeze swept through the clearing, catching a few strands of his long hair as the full moon shone brightly in the night sky above him.

"Every day I could pick up an axe." Torkra answered with no hesitation in his voice to the approving grunts from the orcs beside him.

"Your honor astounds me as it condemns you, for I know orcs to be a people of their word, as I am a man of mine." Haelyth nodded to someone behind Torkra.

Someone yanked his hair lifting his head up as he heard the sounds of gasps and gargled cries fill the clearing. A flash of steel passed below his chin. He didn't feel the blade but a slight tugging of his thick skin across his neck and the cascade of warmth that ran down his chest.

He slumped forward and hit the ground hard. The dirt horizontal with the sky began to stain darkly, seeping across his vision which was beginning to dim. So this was death. It was much quieter than any orc would have preferred. His breathing slowed and mind became fuzzy. He tried shaking his head to clear his dimming vision and blinked furiously to make out the forms of the orcs around him, but it darkened steadily as if the moon was going out.

A war horn blew in the distance. The deep sound resonated through the forest and even as he lay dying Torkra could feel the night elves grow instantly tense. It dawned on them that he had been truthful.

He could hear Haelyth barking orders to the elves around them before they began quickly dispersing.

Torkra tried making out words but couldn't tell over the distant familiar sounds of war if he made them out.

"For Thrall… For the Horde!"


	2. Code of War

Chapter II: Code of War

Saela stopped running to catch her breath and allow her students time to do the same. They crouched in the roots of a great tree, hiding themselves from view of the pursuing war band. Saela thought they had put enough distance between themselves and the orcs but didn't want to risk staying long.

She looked up at the tree they were taking refuge under, remembering decades ago playing through this forest as a child. A breeze rustled through the trees and beams of moonlight shone down on her face. She looked up, returning the moon's baleful gaze. Was this to be the end of Ashenvale?

Two of her students had already fallen to the horde forces while trying to disrupt the oncoming attack. That was when Saela took the remaining three and fled further into the forest. Her loyalty to the forest was absolute, but at this moment her priorities were to keep her remaining pupils alive. Though she was young herself she had been instructed to begin teaching these rangers the ways of moving unseen through the forest. But these were little more than children; even as she turned to them they stared around wide-eyed, flinching at every sound of the forest. They had scrapes and bruises but were otherwise unharmed, and Saela intended to keep them that way. There was little mere students would be able to do against the massed veteran warriors of the horde; she would not waste their lives needlessly.

She thought for another moment before deciding on her plan. She would take them to the northernmost part of the forest where the three of them could make their way back to Darnassus and spread word of what had happened; the horde had sent its forces to completely push all alliance presence from Ashenvale. Though deep in her heart she knew it would matter little, the glimpses she got of the oncoming tide was that of endless green skins covered in thick armor – far too many for the handful of night elves patrolling the forest to stop.

Saela turned to her favorite student, Darna, who was examining a wound she'd received from a serrated arrow across her arm. "Let me see that…" Saela said softly, taking her pupil's arm and reaching into her pack for a bandage. Darna winced but said nothing as Saela applied pressure while wrapping the bandage. When she was done Darna nodded appreciatively, rotating her shoulder to get a feel for the weight difference on her arm.

Saela looked over her other students for any injuries that needed attention. Seeing none, she asked "Are you rested? You will be traveling far tonight and will not stop again until out of Ashenvale."

"Where are we going?" asked Freywn, his eyes still wide, his brother Killeth peering out of their cover to check they were safe.

"Darnassus, to tell what happened here." Saela answered. The students nodded in understanding.

She looked them over once more and then crept out of the cover of tree roots, making sure the surrounding area was safe before moving out. She closed her eyes and listened to the forest. The clink of armour a half-mile to the west, beyond that the sounds and cries of battle, to the east the slow creep of horde scouts rooting out pockets like the one she had just been resting in. They were almost completely surrounded save to the north. She quickly gestured to her students to follow and moved swiftly through the trees and bushes, making no more noise than a breeze.

They traveled for an hour without incident save the sounds of approaching battle, every few minutes Saela stopping to listen again and reorient herself with the surrounding hostiles. They changed direction a few times, went outright backwards once, but evaded the notice of all horde forces, slowly making their way north and west along the mountains.

Suddenly Saela stopped, heart thumping hard. She just now caught wind of another patrol, this one much closer than any of the others. She held up a hand to signal her students to stop and be silent, waiting to hear what this patrol was doing. When she heard the patrol they were moving but now they too had stopped. She prayed they hadn't been detected.

Then, ever so slowly, they began moving towards Saela's group.

"Cover!" she turned and mouthed to her students who quietly scrambled into crevices of rocks and tree trunks. She swung herself into a tree, silently climbing high enough to be sufficiently covered by shadows but close enough to the moonlit ground to see anyone passing below. She found a large branch and lay on it, pulling her long hair behind her so it would not hang and catch the moonlight possibly giving away her position.

Minutes passed. In this part of the forest it was so silent Saela couldn't even hear the battles anymore. The silence pressed in, broken only by the occasional rustled leaf. She hugged her tree branch closer, squinting down at the ground. It occurred to her she hadn't even heard the other scouting party since climbing the tree. This worried her, and she lifted herself up to sling the bow from across her back, readying an arrow should the need arise.

The quiet was broken by a sudden ruckus from the forest floor. Several dwarves stumbled under the tree out of nowhere. A dwarf expedition, by the looks of it. They had chosen a poor time to explore Ashenvale.

"I dunno what's goin' on lads, but we gotta make for Astrannar if we're gonna survive tonight." The leader said to the others, bent double trying to catch his breath. The dwarfs looked batted and beaten but they were still standing. But Saela knew this wasn't the party she'd heard before – dwarves were much too loud to navigate a forest stealthily.

And that was why it pained her to see the shadows gathering around the surrounding trees. She would not sacrifice the lives of her students for a handful of reckless dwarves. She could call out to them, warn of them the enemies surrounding as they rested, but it would change nothing save the number of night elves that would be slain in this fight.

A dwarf stood a little apart from the others, looking out into the forest. "You boys hear anything?" he asked.

"No…" one responded after listening a moment.

"I don' like this at all, we should keep–!" he was cut off as a rotted claw reached from under the bushes he was standing before, grabbing his ankle and trying to yank him in. He hit the ground hard, yelling to his comrades for aid but a second later was pulled in. The dwarves scrambled to their feet and hefted their weapons as a muffled gargle emitted from the bushes.

As the dwarves ran for the bushes one stayed behind, trying to find his weapon which had been misplaced. Saela shook her head silently pleading the dwarf to rejoin his allies.

The dwarf looked around frantically, then spotted his rifle leaning against a tree with an open trunk cast in shadow a good twenty yards away, a short distance from Darna. "How the…" the flustered dwarf muttered to himself, running to pick it up. He grabbed his weapon and turned around to help the others when another decaying clawed hand reached from the shadows, covering his mouth and yanking him into the tree.

Meanwhile the dwarves had found the lifeless body of the first dwarf, half a dozen knife wounds in his chest.

"Wait where's Tin?" one asked, looking around.

"Tin?"

"Tinny!"

The dwarves began calling for the second dwarf, ensuring they had the absolute attention of all beings in the forest within earshot.

"That's it, we're headin' out." The leader announced, picking up his gear and starting to walk.

"What about–?"

"Tin's dead, and unless ye wanna join 'em I suggest we keep movin'."

"Hold up, there's Tin's gun." One dwarf said, walking over to the tree where the dwarf called Tin had disappeared.

The leader yanked him back and hefted his gun. The sound of thunder echoed around the area as he fired his shotgun into the dark crevice. It was quiet for a moment then a pale body fell out, oozing ichor from the multiple bullet wounds. The undead lay face down on the ground and did not move.

"Ye can join Tin or join me, take yer pick." The leader said, shouldering his shotgun and continuing to walk, beady eyes scanning the area for more lurking about.

Then the forest came alive around them. Out of bushes leapt more undead, from treetops descended trolls, ghostly wolves flanked them along the nearby ridge, howling in the moonlight.

"Move! Move lads, to me!" the leader yelled, firing point blank into an undead who's abdomen blew outwards in chunks as it kept moving towards him, unfazed. "We're gettin' outta here!"

Saela stared at just how many horde had gathered in the area while they were in hiding. It was a miracle none of the elves were discovered. She closed her eyes and prayed that the forest would guide the dwarves to safety.

The sounds of gunfire and pursuit died away into the night and all that remained was the silence that had been before. Saela wanted to keep still a while longer to ensure they truly were alone again.

The soft beating of wings broke the quiet and she looked up to see a bird she'd never seen before flying overhead. Jet black it was almost impossible to see against the starry sky. As she watched it spotted her, changing direction and circling closer to land on one of the uppermost tree branches.

She stared. Never in all her years had she seen this type of bird in Ashenvale before and she wondered where it came from. It was much larger than a hawk but had similar features. Long talons, cruel beak, it didn't seem to fit the local wildlife.

As she wondered about this it jumped to a lower branch, glanced at her, then dropped another branch closer. Saela felt something tugging at her stomach but she was compelled to watch the bird which was now a few yards above her, staring with oddly intelligent eyes.

Then without warning the bird cried out, spreading its wings and cocking its head up. The cry echoed around the area and immediately sounds could be picked up around them, making way through underbrush towards their location.

Saela jerked her head to see her students who were maintaining position but looking fearful. Then the sounds of talons on bark caught her ear and she looked back at the bird which had taken off and leapt towards her. A split second later a purple wisp wrapped around the bird, extending wings into lanky arms, short talons into bandy legs, and beak into a tusked face.

The troll cried out as it flew down at her pulling a hand axe from its back.

Saela was taken completely by surprise and only had time to pull her bow up to defend herself with. The troll landed on her, carrying its weight to the side and they both rolled off the branch.

Saela landed crouched, quickly retrieving one of her fallen arrows as the troll flipped itself up from landing on its back.

She let fly an arrow that the troll deflected with the broad side of the axe, knocking it from its grasp. She ran for another arrow as the troll yelled something in its tongue-slow language, cupping hands to its mouth. Saela aimed the bow and the troll bent its knees and hunched its back, readying itself.

The troll threw itself to the side as the arrow was let free, catching it in the shoulder instead of the heart where Saela had been aiming. It spun and hit the ground, grunting as it tried to work out the arrow now lodged in bone.

Saela heard a rustling from the bushes and saw another troll moving past a tree towards her. It readied a throwing axe but hadn't even lifted it when a blade appeared from behind, glinting in the moonlight. In a swift motion the blade dipped around the thin neck and slit before the troll knew what had happened. It collapsed to the ground, grabbing at its neck as Darna stepped forward to help Saela.

The wounded troll stood, apparently giving up on the arrow. It looked about to call again when Saela let fly another arrow, this time striking true.

A howl pierced their ears as two wolves returned, leaping from the ridge above to land a short distance away and in an instant returning to their true forms. Two large tauren towered over them, causing them to take a few steps back.

Saela positioned herself in front of Darna, drawing her knife and calling out to the other students in darnassian to keep hidden. One tauren was armored for battle while the other wore thick robes. As the warrior tauren approached taking an axe off its back the robed one called out to him, viewing the night elves with a comprehending expression.

The battle tauren spoke, pointing at them with its large axe and gestured to the bodies lying around, the robed one responding in their deep tongue, pointing back at Darna and to where the other two night elves were hidden.

The battle tauren exhaled deeply through its wide nostrils and looked back to the night elves who were watching warily. Then it pointed behind them, making a sweeping motion with its axe. Saela flinched but then realized it was not an attack. The robed tauren knelt beside the troll she'd shot and removed the arrows with ease, laying its massive hands on the body. The other walked over and hefted the undead and other troll in one arm, bringing them over to the robed one to try to mend.

Saela realized the tauren did not want to be here, loyalties being torn between the horde and nature. They ceased paying attention to the night elves, the robed tauren still kneeling beside the bodies while the other stood guard.

Saela whispered her gratitude for understanding their situation and called out to the night elves to depart.

"Are we just going to allow them to heal their wounded?" Killeth asked angrily, looking back at the tauren.

"They just allowed us to live because you three are little more than children." Saela responded, knowing that the bodies the tauren were tending to were far past healing. "If you want to throw that away go back and attack them if you wish."

Killeth said nothing and followed quietly.

"We're almost to the edge of the forest." Saela said quietly after a short time, noting the change in air as the trees became thinner. "You will know the way when we're there."

"You're not coming with us?" Freywn asked, nervously looking around for an ambush to happen the moment they left her protection.

"They only want Ashenvale; you will be safe once you are out. From there you will need to rely on one another to make it to Darnassus." Saela instructed reassuringly, "Stay close to Darna, she will guide you."

Darna nodded her appreciation for the faith in her but even she looked uneasy with leaving Saela's side. "Where will you go, Saela?"

"Astrannar. They will need help evacuating." Saela thought aloud. "And the horde will have to pay for every tree in this forest, I will make sure of it…. There, this should be far enough."

She stopped moving, letting the others take in their surroundings and see which way to go. They bade her farewell, the look in their eyes telling her they didn't think they'd see her again. She couldn't guarantee otherwise.

They had taken ten paces when an orc war horn blew from a tree behind her. She spun and had just enough time to hunch one shoulder to turn the club aimed at her head into a glancing blow. She stumbled and moved away, dazed. The forest spun around her.

Darnassian yelling could be heard from behind her and she knew her students were coming back to help. She called out to them to run away, head to Darnassus. Get away from here. But as her vision realigned she saw they had come to her aid and engaged the orcs.

She stood up from a tree she couldn't remember leaning against and made for the battle. Only three orcs were fighting but more could be seen crashing through the bushes towards them.

Freywn was dodging the orc swinging a war club wildly, trying to get in with his shortsword. The orc made a particularly wide swing and Freywn lunged in to be met in the gut with a mailed fist. He moved backwards, trying to catch his breath. The orc came down on him knocking his blade away. The two began grappling with the club, vying for leverage.

Killeth leapt for the oncoming orc with his dagger, using his longer limbs to his advantage. The orc caught his wrist before it made contact, other hand readying an axe for a killing blow. Killeth swung his fist around, making contact with the orc's strong jaw and hearing several small poppings in his hand as bones broke. The orc's head rocked with the initial impact but it didn't let go of the hand around Killeth's wrist. Killeth struck at him again but with considerably less force as the pain in his hand flared. The orc took the blow again, smiling at Killeth as he brought his axe back.

Darna snarled back at the orc bearing down on her, then without warning stepped back. The orc had put all its weight into the mace they were wrestling for and fell forward failing to catch itself. She wasted no time in sweeping down with her blade and stabbing furiously at its thick neck.

She looked up and saw Killeth drop to his knees and fall to the side silently, axe blade embedded in his forehead.

"Killeth!" Freywn yelled still grappling for the war club. Fury fueled by watching his brother fall gave him strength and he stripped the weapon from his opponent's hands, bringing it across with both arms like a bat into the orc's head. It dropped to the ground in an instant, dead. Still seething he spun to face his brother's killer who stooped to retrieve the axe and face the charging night elf.

Blood ran down the side of Saela's head and she felt dizzy, but she could still make out the oncoming orcs nearly on them. She called to Darna as Freywn battled the orc.

"Flee, Darna! Someone must make it out and tell what happened here!" Saela ordered. Darna looked torn between staying to defend against hopeless odds and following orders coupled with self-preservation. Saela grasped her shoulder, getting her attention. When Darna looked at her Saela whispered "Go."

Darna took one last look at the orcs now jumping into the fray and then turned, lithe form navigating the forest with ease.

Saela quickly ducked down to retrieve Killeth's dagger and brandished her own. An orc who charged her missed with its longsword by inches and paid the price of its failure with a deep slash across the neck. Another ducked around Freywn and the other orc and made one stride towards her when a knife stuck itself in the orc's eye and it careened off to the side screaming.

A break opened between the close quarters fighting and Freywn put all his strength into the club, swinging it from behind him directly up into the jaw of the unprepared orc. The head collapsed like an accordion, bottom half pushing into the upper as features became mashed together. Though the tough skin held the insides of the orc's head had become a stew of shattered bones and brain matter. The orc slowly fell, landing squarely on its back and did not move.

Freywn stared down with triumph and then looked to where his brother lay. He didn't have time for a thought to run through his head before he dropped to the ground, hit by a fork of lightning in the back that jumped to Saela.

She hit the ground too, gasping for air, eyes wide. It was as though every muscle in her body had contracted at once and her heart was beating a thousand times faster than she'd ever felt it before. Her ears rang and she could barely make out the form of Freywn crawling towards her.

She didn't know how he managed but he clambered to his feet shakily, bending to help her do the same. She leaned heavily on him as he tried to get them further from source of the lightning, a troll that was casually making its way towards them.

Arm around his shoulder she could feel cracked skin, horribly burned by the lightning strike. She knew even if they managed to escape he would very likely die from his injuries.

Freywn looked back to see the troll bring its hands together, ball of electricity crackling between them. His youthful face took one last look at his brother lifeless on the ground then to forest around them. It smelled of smoke and in an instant he had a vision of what was to be: a barren landscape spotted with great stumps, the final legacy of a time long ago when nature was the only god that ruled Azeroth.

Then he shrugged his shoulders, throwing his teacher forwards as he turned back, throwing himself at the troll and was met half the distance with another bolt of lightning. He didn't feel himself hit the ground.

Saela flipped herself over. Her head was light, blood continuing to seep down her face. She struggled to lift herself up, seeing the smoking body of Freywn a short distance from Killeth. A few of the oncoming orcs ran past her in the direction of Darna, but Saela knew their heavy armor would make it impossible to catch her even if she were walking.

Three orcs stood over her, speaking in their guttural language. She knew orcs despised killing unarmed opponents and that code was the only reason she wasn't already dead.

One barked an order and another pulled out ropes with which to bind her, but Saela had no intention of becoming a prisoner of war.

In a sudden burst of energy she found the strength to reach up, grabbing one orc by the belt and pulling herself up and him down. Ducking under another's swinging arm she sprinted towards a nearby copse downhill. She heard another orc running at her from the side and turned in time to see him lower his shoulder to tackle her. Stopping herself suddenly and spinning he grazed her side and she continued, feeling one grasping hand flow right through her hair and fail to grab anything.

She leapt into the bushes and used all of her training to meld into the shadows, vanishing into the trees and moving swiftly through the winding branches and roots, silent as the wind.


	3. The Evacuation of Astrannar

Chapter III: The Evacuation of Astrannar

"Hold! Do not let them across the bridges!" Haelyth bellowed to his allies around him as he fought on the frontlines. "Here their numbers matter not!" He brought his greatsword down into the shoulder and halfway across the torso of the orc he was battling. Blood gushed from the wound as the orc went into shock and Haelyth set his boot beside the blade, kicking it free.

But no sooner had he fallen than two more took his place. Their heavy armor made the orcs incapable of crossing the water, which kept them funneled to the two main bridges leading into Astrannar. Haelyth knew that despite this defensive bonus they did not have the manpower to hold long. Within the hour they would be overrun.

Brandishing the broad side of the sword before him he thrust into the two orcs, taking them by surprise and knocking them backwards. Grunting he slashed behind him, crushing the spine of one of the orcs he'd bypassed fighting a night elf warrior. With his opponent felled the night elf rushed to Haelyth's other side, sliding his sword between the ribs of another orc grappling with a guard.

The immediate line dealt with Haelyth fell back alongside the defenders, readying themselves for another wave. Panting heavily he rested his sword over his shoulders. "Leave their bodies on the bridge, hold at the line. It gives them poor footing."

He chanced a glance behind him to the circle of mages in the center of town. "How much longer?" he called to them.

"Hold a little longer, commander." The head human mage called back. "The portal's almost ready."

The small gathering of the town's inhabitants nearby looked around fearfully, waiting to evacuate as soon as the portal was ready. The normally peaceful open sky over Astrannar was broken by the screams of townspeople and sound of violence. The stars no longer looked mystical but foreboding, the surrounding forest not mysterious but ominous. No one knew what would happen this night, but all were fearful.

"Commander! Undead are coming from the water!" a guard called to Haelyth. Behind him bodies trudged up the slopes of the riverbank, unaffected by the need to breathe.

One grabbed a fleeing townsman and dragged him to the ground, several more undead swooping in on them. Haelyth abandoned the bridge allowing another to take his place and rushed to save the man, knowing by the sounds of screams that it would be too late.

He swung his sword with all its momentum into the crouched forms of the undead, heavy weapon cutting into the rotted flesh with ease. Two didn't get up and the others rose in time for him to bring the weapon down on another, weight alone crushing the reanimated body. As another lunged for him he brought the weapon across, cutting it in two.

The last one clawed at his armor harmlessly. Haelyth tried getting distance but the undead clung on, claws searching for a weak point. Finally they found his face, and Haelyth had to let go of his weapon to keep the pointed thumbs from gouging his eyes out.

He outmuscled the undead and brought its arms away to snap his hands back to its neck, swiftly jerking it one way then the other. The lantern-like eyes slowly dimmed and turned black as the body went limp.

"The western bridge has fallen! The orcs are in the town!"

Haelyth picked up his sword and ran past the town center where the mages had finished their portal. There was a panic to get in first, people stepping in from one side and disappearing entirely.

"Get everyone into the portal, the horde won't pursue us into the heart of Stormwind." Haelyth shouted to the mages, many of whom had engaged in battle with the surrounding undead and orcs.

He ran for the western bridge to stem the flow of orcs and buy the townspeople more time to evacuate, cutting down any horde he passed with a crushing blow.

As he drew near he saw there seemed to be a commotion of its own ahead, the oncoming orcs being delayed by a handful of dwarves who were battling to get into the city before them. The leader shouted obscenities to the orcs who were reluctant to approach the loud end of his weapon as the dwarves ran into the city, looking disappointed to find it in no better condition than the area outside but relieved to see allies.

Haelyth didn't know what they were doing here but would not question any potential reinforcements if they were willing to fight.

The remaining dwarves readied their own weapons and stood behind their leader who was backing away down the bridge, keeping the mass at bay.

Haelyth turned and saw the mages freezing any undead they found making use of their water-laden bodies, before focusing on the eastern bridge which was buckling under the weight of orcs scrambling over their dead, trying to push through the handful of defenders.

The sounds of gunshots could be heard and Haelyth looked back to the west see a mighty tauren shrug off a shotgun blast before picking up the dwarf leader with one hand and throwing him into the deep lake. The remaining dwarves fell back, firing as they did so.

Haelyth was about to make for the portal when he saw a human child in front of her home, across the square from the portal. She looked around frightened, then to the portal, then ran back inside the house behind her.

Haelyth ran past the portal towards the house, throwing his shoulder into the door. The girl was crouched in the corner of the room, sobbing. "Child, we must evacuate now!" He said urgently, stepping towards her.

She looked at him fearfully but said nothing. He knelt and extended his hand, "Come, all you must do is run into the portal. Don't stop for any reason."

She nodded and then looked over his shoulder, eyes widening.

He spun and saw a heavily armored orc make its way into the household, silhouetted against the moonlight.

Haelyth silently stood and made his way to the center of the room, drawing attention from the child. "You are not welcome in this land, orc." He spoke in its language.

"This is our land now, night elf." It responded in Darnassian. This surprised Haelyth, the orcs he encountered who could speak his language were few and far between.

"This land will never belong to anyone, you are merely occupying it for the time being." Haelyth said, hefted his weapon. "And when you are dead and gone, it will return to rightful hands."

The orc drew his two-handed axe from its back. "A day you will never see."

Haelyth sidestepped bringing his sword across quickly. The orc deflected the blade and attempted to thrust the tip of the axe into Haelyth's side, but it glanced off as the elf used the momentum from the blade to spin around and make a stabbing motion with the greatsword, only to have it knocked away by a gauntleted hand.

The orc caught Haelyth off balance and palmed his face, pushing him backwards and tripping his feet. Haelyth caught himself and stumbled backwards into a chest, rolling to the side and drawing his dagger as an axe split the chest down the middle and bit into the wooden floor.

The orc grunted and stepped away from him, holding his armpit where several bands of muscle had been severed. Haelyth held up his bloodied dagger.

Haelyth muttered over his shoulder, "Go child, escape now!" The girl was quiet but stood, watched them for another moment, then ran for the door.

The orc never took its small eyes off Haelyth, though it snorted as the girl left. "That is what you die for? A child?"

"I die fighting the disease that is your kind ailing this world. And until my last breath I will continue fighting for a world free of your wanton destruction." Haelyth answered, eyes burning with hatred. "When I see your kind all I see is a blight upon this world, an infection that must be purged if any others are to thrive."

"Yes, keep fighting." The orc's strong jaw line pulled into a smile. "I think you're closer to becoming orcs than we are to becoming elves."

Haelyth snarled and lunged again, swinging his sword across. But the orc came forward and met him too close for the sword to be effective, placing his thick fingers around Haelyth's neck. Haelyth dropped the sword and tried peeling the calloused hands away but their grip was like iron. He stepped back and the orc moved with him, calmly matching his steps.

He gasped for air that couldn't come, grey flecks dotting his vision. He dipped suddenly to loosen the hold but the orc dropped with him, pushing him onto his back and pressing over him, not taking his thumbs from Haelyth's windpipe.

Numb hands scrambled over the orc's armor, trying to find anything that might make the orc let go.

His lungs screamed for air, his head ached and made it impossible to think as his vision became too hazy to see.

Haelyth's fingers brushed a hilt along the orc's hip. With what remained of his strength he slid it out of its sheath and thrust it with all his might towards the orc above him.

It grunted, and he could make out the dagger sticking blade-deep into its neck as it maintained its grip on Haelyth. The wound bled profusely and Haelyth knew it would not survive much longer after it was done with him.

Somehow passing was easier now, knowing he'd taken one more orc with him. His vision clouded over one final time as his head stopped aching, fingers stopped tingling. All he could sense now was his heart beat… Slower… Slower…

And the world went silent.


End file.
